WI: All of Anne Boleyn's pregnacies came to term

1534
Despite popular belief, King Henry was not disappointed with the birth of Princess Elizabeth, believing if his wife could have a healthy girl, she could have a healthy boy. However, this did not change the simple fact that in order to to secure her position as Queen, Anne Boleyn desperately needed a son. Thankfully she did not need to worry for when she went into labor in August 26 and gave birth to a healthy boy. Anne Boleyn upon learning she had a son is said to have cried out: "If I die tomorrow, consider my blood well spent for I have done what I have promised and my son is my victory!"

King Henry was over the moon. He had a son. It is said he wept for joy for at last England can rest easily now that there was a male heir. He claimed that his father must be smiling done from heaven, pleased that his dynasty was at least secure. Those who knew the late King Henry had a feeling that if the old monarch was indeed looking down at his son from heaven, he was not smiling.

Regardless the birth of the new Prince was celebrated even by those who hated Anne Boleyn, blaming her for the King forsaking Katherine and Mary, it would take some time for the people of England to fully take her in their heart. Thankfully they wasted no time accepting her son as it had been over two decades since they celebrated a Prince of Wales.

Thrilled with his wife, King Henry allowed her to chose the Prince's name, Anne wanting her son to have a name that no other monarch had before him, that would make him stand out in the mist of Thomases and Henrys chose to name him Ambrose, declaring that his legacy would be immortal. Her husband enthusiastically agreed even if he was disappointed that she had not named him Henry.

It is said that the former Queen Katherine wept upon learning that Anne Boleyn had given birth to a boy. She sent a letter to congratulate Henry on having a son and begged him to allow her to see her daughter. King Henry wrote back he would be most pleased to do so if she and Mary would sign the oath and swear that Prince Ambrose is Henry's true heir.

When Princess Elizabeth is brought to court, the Lady Mary is among her retinue. If she hopes the invitation to court is a sign that her father is softening, that is dashed when King Henry refuses to see her and instead sends a message that he expects her to be at her brother's christianing for she would be his maid as well as her half-sister.

Emperor Charles declares that the birth of a bastard "though he lorded as true prince of blood" changes nothing for his aunt is the true queen and his cousin is the true Princess of Wales.

However King Francis, who was feeling quite discomforted by Lutherans thanks to the Affair of the Picards incident, is almost too happy to be godfather to young Ambrose along with his sister Marguerite. When he sends Philippe de Chabot, the admiral of France, in November, he is all to happy to agree to the betrothal of young Princess Elizabeth with his third son, Prince Charles.

Queen Anne exites her time of confinement as though she was on cloud nine. She even invites her estranged sister to return to court for Christmastide, having convinced King Henry to knight William Stafford and make him a Baron.

"There will be no getting rid of her now," Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk writes to his wife. "She managed to convince His Majesty to send away his mistress. Now that she has a son, he is once again hanging off every word."

Thomas Boleyn is ecstatic and fully expects to be made a Duke by next year. His brother-in-law is equally pleased, although a bit put out that the King chose Henry Fitroy along with Mary Howard as godparents instead of himself and his wife.

Although he is happy for his sister, George Boleyn suspects that with Anne having done her duty, his father is going to be pushing him to do his. So he does his best to reconcile with his wife in hopes of getting her pregnant. Hopefully a boy who will become Prince Ambrose's companion.

As for Prince Ambrose himself, he and his sisters stay at court for first few months of his birth just so courtiers can see him and remark on how much he looks like his father and isn't he a bonny Prince?

Even better, during the Christmastide celebrations, Anne reveals she is pregnant for the third time. Her allies cheer and her enemies scream in fury, pulling out their hair in frustration.
 
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Hurrah for Queen Anne! I’m actually quite fond of Anne Boleyn as a historical figure and I’ve often thought of doing an Anne-centric TL myself. Interested to see where yours goes.
 
I have read your work on AO3. I am so glad that you are writing an alt-history with Anne Boleyn having all her pregnancies come to term. I look forward to seeing this timeline unfold.
 
Ambrose is pretty strange as name. Lionel, Arthur, Edmund, Owen, Jasper, George would be all more appropriate and quite unique
 
Ambrose is pretty strange as name. Lionel, Arthur, Edmund, Owen, Jasper, George would be all more appropriate and quite unique

For naming I use this site. And according to it Ambrose actually beats out Lionel, Owen, and Jasper on popularity in the 1500s. So, its unusual, especially at the time 70% of guys were accounted for in the top 5 names, but not impossible.
 
For naming I use this site. And according to it Ambrose actually beats out Lionel, Owen, and Jasper on popularity in the 1500s. So, its unusual, especially at the time 70% of guys were accounted for in the top 5 names, but not impossible.
Who doesn't use that site! It's great. It's that or the Bible for me.
 
Is the child that Anne is carrying now her OTL last pregnancy (the miscarried son that led to her downfall)? Or does he/she exist because Anne is in a much better position now?

Also what will happen to the Seymours? They are ambitious, so they will probably try to throw Jane or one of her sisters at Henry even if they cannot topple Anne.
 
Is the child that Anne is carrying now her OTL last pregnancy (the miscarried son that led to her downfall)? Or does he/she exist because Anne is in a much better position now?

Also what will happen to the Seymours? They are ambitious, so they will probably try to throw Jane or one of her sisters at Henry even if they cannot topple Anne.

Acording to Wikipedia, she had three pregnancies after Elizabeth. Considering how close the pregnancies were to each other, I think she may have gotten pregnant too quickly and that was why she kept losing them.

As for the Seymours, you will have to wait and see.
 
Naturally it's your timeline, Violet, but the birth of a son would undermine Katherine and Mary's support from Karl. No one would accept Mary as "rightful" ANYTHING in the presence of a half-brother, lawfully begotten, no matter their sentiments on Henry's dubious "divorce" from Katherine. Anne's ten feet tall and bullet proof, but Mary's position is weaker. Henry's been "proven right" and the pope's the one with egg on his face. Katherine's biggest argument (that she's Henry's lawful wife) is undermined. Because if God REALLY agrees with this argument, why is he letting Anne succeed where Katherine failed?
 
Naturally it's your timeline, Violet, but the birth of a son would undermine Katherine and Mary's support from Karl. No one would accept Mary as "rightful" ANYTHING in the presence of a half-brother, lawfully begotten, no matter their sentiments on Henry's dubious "divorce" from Katherine. Anne's ten feet tall and bullet proof, but Mary's position is weaker. Henry's been "proven right" and the pope's the one with egg on his face. Katherine's biggest argument (that she's Henry's lawful wife) is undermined. Because if God REALLY agrees with this argument, why is he letting Anne succeed where Katherine failed?

Right now, Charles is upset that he has been proven wrong and is basically lashing out in anger. With the news of Anne's second pregnancy and France's decision to ally with England, he will soon be changing his tune.
 
For naming I use this site. And according to it Ambrose actually beats out Lionel, Owen, and Jasper on popularity in the 1500s. So, its unusual, especially at the time 70% of guys were accounted for in the top 5 names, but not impossible.
Well, considering who Owen and Jasper are Welsh names and Lionel a pretty uncommon one that is not surprising at all. And I was talking about the name in the specific contest of Henry’s family, not in the more general contest of Tudor England (specially as Ambrose was also the name of John Dudley/Northumberland’s second son)
 
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1535 part one
When King Henry introduced the Oath of Supremacy he made it clear that it would be treason to refuse to sign it. Three Carthusian monks, a Bridgettine monk and priest had refused to sign it along with Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher. All of them now languished in the Tower awaiting their deaths.

However six days before the monks and the priest were slated to die, Queen Anne dropped to her husband's feet and begged him to spare the seven godly men whose only crimes was being mislead by the Catholic Church. Had God not proved that she and Henry were just in their path by blessing them with Prince Ambrose. "I beseech you to pardon them my lord, spare them for they are ignorant not disloyal."

Since the birth of Prince Ambrose, King Henry had been able to deny Anne anything. Although it infuriated him that his subjects were defying him, he had to admit that with the birth of his son, they had become a small number. So he officially pardoned all seven men, telling them it was only thanks to the Queen that they were alive, but not even she would save them if he caught a whiff of them trying to stir up trouble.

Many wondered what had prompted Anne to ask her husband to spare these men, after all they were all her enemies and supporters of Katherine. Perhaps she had genuinely thought that now that she had a son, she had nothing to fear from those rabble rousers. Or perhaps she knew that the death of these men would only give Catholic more martyrs and that she would be blamed for their deaths.

Meanwhile in Hatfield, Mary has fallen ill and Katherine sensing which way the wind is blowing writes to Anne instead of Henry, imploring her not to think of her as her rival, but as a fellow mother who has been separated from her daughter and fears that her daughter might die.

Anne writes back that she would be delighted to reunite mother and daughter if Katherine would just acknowledge her as queen and her son as the Prince of Wales and her daughter as a Princess. She states that she does not need Katherine to admit to anything else, only to acknowledge her and her children.

Katherine writes back that she has been nothing, but a kind and goodly mistress to Anne so why does she insist on being so cruel and vindictive? Is it not enough that she has won? Must she continue to be so wicked?

Anne sends another letter, asking Katherine what she would do if she was in Anne's position?

Katherine noticeably does not answer and instead sends another plea, begging her to nurse her daughter back to health, swearing on her mother's grave that she will not say a single word against Henry, Anne, Elizabeth or Ambrose. Begging her to take pity on an old woman who does not have much time left.

Anne cannot refuse and she goes to Henry, asking him to allow Katherine to visit her daughter.

Henry does not refuse outright, instead he sends a letter to Katherine, admonishing her for putting poor pregnant Anne in the middle of their feud and telling her that Anne's demands that she acknowledge Anne as Queen and Elizabeth and Ambrose as heirs are far kinder than a demand he would have made for her. He tells her point blank that she has two choices either sign the oath or do what Anne has asked of her.

Katherine is fully aware that her daughter will never be accepted over a son especially with Henry's act of succession, allowing him to chose his heir. She also knows that despite his spiteful words after the birth of Prince Ambrose , her nephew is eager for an English alliance and is reconsidering his stance. She also knows that as harsh as he is being, Henry is right. Anne's demand only requires her to acknowledge Anne as Queen without denying the validity of her marriage or the legitimacy of her daughter or swearing that Henry is the head of the English Church. It is the lesser of two evils.

Katherine finally agrees to acknowledge Anne as Henry's wife and their children as his heirs. She is allowed to leave Kimbolton Castle and reunite with Mary. While Mary is happy to see her mother, she is devastated to learn what her mother is going to do. What is worse, Henry expects both Katherine and Mary to come to Whitehall and publicly acknowledge Anne as Queen.

It is unknown what Katherine and Mary talked about as their watchers only reported that they did not speak treason. However, whatever her mother had said to her had evidentially convinced Mary that accepting Anne, Elizabeth and Ambrose was their only option.

A week later, Katherine and Mary were welcomed at court where they had to sign a document declaring Anne Boleyn as the Queen of England, Elizabeth as a legitimate Princess and Ambrose as the Prince of Wales. It is unknown how their supporters took this news, but Anne's allies sighed in relief.

As Thomas Boleyn continues to await his dukedom, he is pleased to learn that his son's wife is pregnant.

In July, Anne Boleyn gives birth to a girl. King Henry decides her name will be Anne after her most beloved mother.
 
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So Anne has become more gracious in victory...or she is being pragmatic and has no wish to create more martyrs for the Catholic church than have already been made ( I figure that Thomas More has died already because his execution predates the PoD). Her actions toward Katherine of Aragon certainly suggest the former.

Mary has agreed to drop her claims publicly, which probably cuts her deeply. At least she has her mother with her. And if she plays nice with an Anne who is gracious in victory (and Henry, who orchestrated her humiliations IOTL and ITTL), she might be restored to her father's good graces and get her legitimacy back (albeit after Anne's daughters and possibly Henry Fitzroy) and/or a marriage that isn't solely to undermine her claimed position in the suggestion.

Speaking of Henry Fitzroy, how is he doing? I hope that he survives unlike OTL.

Despite his words, Emperor Charles is recanting his position on the younger Tudors. I wonder if Philip/Elizabeth or Philip/Anne will happen ITTL?
 
So Anne has become more gracious in victory...or she is being pragmatic and has no wish to create more martyrs for the Catholic church than have already been made ( I figure that Thomas More has died already because his execution predates the PoD). Her actions toward Katherine of Aragon certainly suggest the former.

Mary has agreed to drop her claims publicly, which probably cuts her deeply. At least she has her mother with her. And if she plays nice with an Anne who is gracious in victory (and Henry, who orchestrated her humiliations IOTL and ITTL), she might be restored to her father's good graces and get her legitimacy back (albeit after Anne's daughters and possibly Henry Fitzroy) and/or a marriage that isn't solely to undermine her claimed position in the suggestion.

Speaking of Henry Fitzroy, how is he doing? I hope that he survives unlike OTL.

Despite his words, Emperor Charles is recanting his position on the younger Tudors. I wonder if Philip/Elizabeth or Philip/Anne will happen ITTL?

Nope Thomas More dies in July 1535.

I think I might have Hal survive, haven't decided just yet.
 
This is a fantastic TL already. I like the more pragmatic Anne, and the compromise with Katherine and Mary. I can't wait to see how the politics continue to unfold.
 
I wonder who Ambrose will marry.

Mary, Queen of Scots is an option (albeit one with a very large age gap, and a slightly close familial relation). There is also Anne of Denmark (born in 1532, therefore very close to Ambrose in age). Maria and Joanna of Austria are also options that are close in age (and they are pretty plausible since Charles is walking back his support of Katherine and Mary), but I'm not sure if Henry will agree to a Hapsburg betrothal even if Charles suggests it. Margaret of France is another option (although she is nine years older than the groom), and the other French princesses (daughters of Henri II and Catherine de Medici) are younger than Mary, Queen of Scots (if they still exist).
 
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